As we’ve seen with Toyota’s Prius Prime, putting a solar panel on a car’s roof is a nifty idea but can only gain you a few free miles a day due to the limited size. With a new prototype of its hyper-popular Sakura "kei" EV, Nissan has the answer: a bigger solar panel roof called the AO-Solar Extender. When fully stretched out on a sunny day, it can add about 1,864 miles of driving distance a year and power multiple accessories.
The panel works whether you’re driving or parked. When extended (in "solar pompadour" mode as my colleague put it), it generates 500 watts on sunny days. At the same time, it helps block sunlight from the windshield, "reducing cabin temperature and lowering the need for air conditioning power consumption," Nissan noted.
NISSAN DESIGN
When retracted in driving mode, it still pumps out 300 watts in the sun (80 watts in the rain), quite a bit more than the 185 watts max generated by the Prius Prime’s solar roof. And if you’re worried about aerodynamics, Nissan said the roof is designed to minimize drag and integrate well with the Sakura’s design.
It’s not just a fun exercise, as Nissan said it’s planning to launch the AO-Solar Extender commercially, with details to follow at a later date. It could be a useful accessory on the Sakura, which has been Japan’s most popular EV since 2022 thanks to its "sufficient" range, cute kei looks and spacious interior. The automaker will show it off at the Japan Mobility Show starting on October 30, 2025.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/ezME2iZ
A Munich-based start-up called DeepDrive is gaining attention across the auto industry for its next-generation electric motor technology, and it may be on the cusp of a genuine breakthrough. The company’s compact, dual-rotor drive units promise up to 20 percent greater efficiency than today’s standard EV motors, a potential game-changer in an increasingly competitive global market.
DeepDrive’s engineers have already begun testing the design in prototype vehicles from major automakers, including one test program running at Austria’s Salzburgring circuit. The technology’s goal is simple: extract more range and power from the same battery capacity, using less space and fewer materials.
DeepDrive
A Smarter Motor for a Smarter EV
DeepDrive’s most distinctive feature is its dual-rotor topology, which maximizes the magnetic field’s efficiency to create more torque while reducing energy losses. The setup is also more compact, giving carmakers greater flexibility in packaging and weight distribution, advantages that could redefine how future EVs are designed.
If production scaling succeeds, the efficiency gains could ripple throughout the market. Smaller, lighter battery packs could deliver the same range, cutting costs and environmental impact simultaneously. That’s crucial at a time when the world bought 2 million EVs in one month.
The Timing Couldn’t Be Better
Automakers are in a race to keep electric cars affordable after the expiration of federal credits and the ensuing price reshuffle. Many brands are already cutting EV prices by thousands to keep customers interested. A motor that delivers more range for less energy could be the key to maintaining profitability in this new cost-sensitive landscape.
Meanwhile, the technology shift isn’t happening in isolation. Breakthroughs in charging infrastructure are complementing progress on the drivetrain side. Charging is moving toward cable-free, bi-directional systems that will make EV ownership more seamless, especially when paired with more efficient motors.
What’s Next for DeepDrive
DeepDrive’s challenge now lies in scaling its innovation beyond prototypes. Building an efficient, compact motor is one thing; manufacturing it reliably and economically is another. The company’s founders claim the design uses fewer rare-earth materials than conventional motors, which could lower supply risk and improve sustainability, but only if the technology proves viable at mass-production levels.
Industry analysts believe early adoption could happen by 2027 if testing continues to deliver results. For now, major automakers are watching closely, as even incremental improvements in efficiency can make or break the economics of a new EV platform.
Why It Matters
Every stage of the EV race, batteries, charging, and motors, is converging toward the same goal: doing more with less. As global sales accelerate and price competition tightens, DeepDrive’s work could represent the next frontier in EV performance and affordability.
If its claims hold true, the start-up may soon help automakers squeeze more miles, more profit, and more innovation out of every kilowatt.
Thousands of networks—many of them operated by the US government and Fortune 500 companies—face an “imminent threat” of being breached by a nation-state hacking group following the breach of a major maker of software, the federal government warned Wednesday.
Honda Aircraft Company has become the first manufacturer of twin-turbine very light business jets to successfully fly a HondaJet powered entirely by 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The achievement marks an aviation milestone and highlights Honda’s continued push toward carbon neutrality across all transportation sectors.
The test flight, conducted in Greensboro, North Carolina, used GE-Honda HF120 engines, which were validated for full SAF operation without blending with conventional jet fuel. Until now, most business jet SAF demonstrations have used 50/50 blends. Honda’s ability to operate entirely on sustainable fuel represents a step forward for small aircraft efficiency and environmental performance.
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Honda said the flight proves SAF’s compatibility with smaller turbine platforms and underscores its potential to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80% compared with fossil-based jet fuel. The company plans to continue collaboration with regulatory and engine partners to support future certification.
From Roads to Runways
This achievement ties into Honda’s broader sustainability strategy, which spans cars, motorcycles, and now aviation. While the company’s automotive division is known for its efficient hybrids and growing EV lineup, its aircraft arm is proving that decarbonization extends beyond the road.
In the automotive world, Honda continues to sharpen its lineup through smart differentiation. As the Honda Passport Vs. Honda Pilot explains, even its SUVs are being tailored for efficiency and purpose. Similarly, the Honda HR-V Vs. Honda CR-V piece shows how the brand fine-tunes powertrains and space optimization, lessons that extend naturally into aircraft design.
The HondaJet’s Over-The-Wing Engine Mount (OTWEM) configuration, for instance, maximizes aerodynamic efficiency and cabin space while lowering drag, an engineering mindset shared with its most advanced vehicles.
Honda’s Broader Green Vision
SAF adoption is part of Honda’s multi-pronged approach to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Beyond aviation, the company is focusing on hybrid refinement and EV scalability, with models like the CR-V serving as key transition points. The automaker’s ongoing comparison testing, including Honda CR-V vs Hyundai Tucson, shows how its efficient hybrid and plug-in variants are keeping the brand competitive in the crossover segment.
In aviation, Honda is applying similar logic, targeting meaningful gains within existing product lines rather than developing entirely new aircraft. This incremental, data-driven strategy keeps costs down while advancing sustainability at a realistic pace.
Why It Matters
For the aviation industry, Honda’s successful 100% SAF flight could accelerate regulatory acceptance for light business jets and inspire other manufacturers to validate smaller turbine platforms. For Honda as a company, it reinforces a brand identity built on efficiency, innovation, and real-world application.
While many automakers are still experimenting with electrification in ground transport, Honda has now demonstrated carbon-reduction leadership above it, literally. The same engineering precision that separates its SUVs, crossovers, and hybrids is now propelling the HondaJet toward a more sustainable sky.
Waymo’s artificial intelligence can deal with busy city streets with zero human input, but it turns out all you need to bring the system to its knees is a dead-end street and a smart prankster. Riley Walz, a 23-year-old software engineer, orchestrated what he dubbed the "world’s first Waymo DDoS" by coordinating 50 people to simultaneously order Waymo self-driving cars to San Francisco’s longest dead-end street.
The result? A spectacular traffic jam of white Jaguar I-Paces with Waymo’s signature spinning roof sensors, all arriving to pick up passengers who never intended to board. Waymo responded by temporarily disabling all rides within a two-block radius for a few hours. The prank shows that even advanced robotaxi services aren’t immune to creative human intervention.
Riley Walz
Waymo Self-Driving Cars Vulnerabilities
The prank was inspired by distributed denial-of-service cyberattacks, where systems are overwhelmed with simultaneous requests. Instead of crashing servers, Walz crashed a street near Coit Tower with autonomous vehicles. Nobody actually got in the cars, and after about 10 minutes of making the Waymos wait, the vehicles departed and charged each participant a $5 no-show fee.
This isn’t tech prankster Walz’s first brush with controversy. He previously created an app tracking San Francisco’s parking enforcement officers in real time before city officials shut it down. His pattern of projects blurs the line between satire and systems analysis, pushing boundaries while exposing potential weaknesses in smart city infrastructure.
Riley Walz
The Big Picture: Autonomous Vehicle Traffic Jams
While Walz insisted the stunt was done in good fun and expressed admiration for Waymo’s technology, the incident sparked debate about autonomous vehicle traffic vulnerabilities. Some commenters praised it as a useful stress test, while others warned about potential malicious applications. This could include the likes of delaying emergency services during critical events like terrorist attacks.
The stunt proves that sometimes the biggest threat to artificial intelligence isn’t another AI but rather humans with the know-how to play the system and some time on their hands.
Google has released a new update to its Veo AI video generation model that should make it do a better job of sticking to prompts and converting images into videos. Veo 3.1 is available to try today through Google’s Gemini API and is now also powering the company’s Flow video editor.
Veo 3.1 builds on the new capabilities Google introduced with launch of Veo 3 at Google I/O 2025. The new model offers better "prompt adherence," according to Google, and should have an easier time creating videos based on the image "ingredients" you upload alongside your written prompt. Veo 3.1 also makes it possible to convert images to video and generate audio at the same time, a capability that wasn’t available with Veo 3.
In Flow, Veo 3.1 supports at least a new feature that gives you finer control over the videos you generate. With what Google calls "Frame to Video," Flow lets you upload a first and last frame, and then generates the video in-between. Adobe Firefly, which is powered by Veo 3, offers a similar feature, but Flow will be able to pull it off and create audio at the same time. Those added audio skills will also apply to the video editor’s ability to extend clips and insert objects into existing footage, too.
Based on the samples Google’s shared, videos generated with Veo 3.1 still have an uncanny quality that seems to vary greatly depending on the prompt and subject. Even if it’s missing some of the realism of OpenAI’s Sora 2, though, the company’s decision to try and make Veo more useful to people who actually work with video rather than a source of social media spam is a welcome move.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/kc14I53
